Miguel Cotto could defend his World Boxing Council middleweight title against the winner of the upcoming showdown between Gennady Golovkin and Marcos Antonio Rubio.

WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said in a recent interview with World Boxing News that Cotto will have to defend his middleweight title against either Golovkin or Rubio next year.

"Miguel Cotto has an authorized major fight for May 2015, with the winner of that fighting against the winner of Golovkin versus Rubio," Sulaiman said.

It is still unknown at this point, however, who will be Cotto's opponent for the May 2015 bout. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is reportedly being considered, but most analysts are convinced that the Puerto Rican will not fight a big-name opponent in his next title defense.

Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer, said in an August 22 interview with The Sweet Science that they expect to get an offer from Cotto's camp once GGG wins against Rubio in their scheduled showdown on Oct. 18 where the WBA and IBF middleweight titles will be at stake.

"You have to think Golovkin's name will come up when Miguel begins opponent discussions, because Cotto is the so-called lineal middleweight champion," Sanchez said. "And if not, Cotto needs to answer why not, at least make Golovkin an offer, maybe we can turn it down, or maybe not."

Golovkin's name has come up in discussions about Cotto's next fight, as most fans are hoping that the two champions will agree to face each other in order to determine who is the best fighter in the middleweight division.

However, Rubio vowed to train hard for his upcoming fight against Golovkin because he is also aching to get a big fight, which includes a shot against Cotto.

"We are motivated to face Golovkin," Cotto said in a BoxingScene interview. "I'm a fighter who likes challenges. And it's not enough to just say that, you have to prove it, so I took this fight. I am very happy to face a great world champion. It is the biggest challenge that I've accepted in my career, and I plan to fight Golovkin in true Mexican style."